The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-01-01
saoWlNe HIS METTLE.
,,.u lincoln Won the Respect of h
y" rnnch Element of New Salem.

u,.~ ,;,coln Won the Respect of the
rough Element of New Salem.
, p,hl;c opinion at New Salem was
,,rmcd by a crowd of rutfianly young
Elbows who were called the "Clary's
Grove Bows Once or twice a week
thev descended upon the village and
na.sed the day in drinking. fighting and
brutal horse-play. If a stranger APP
neared in the place, he was likely to
sl,asr a rude initiation into the social
life of Now Salem ut the hands of these
iovial savages. Sometimes he was
pailpd up in a hogshead and rolled
down hill; sometimes he was insulted
into a fght and then mauled black and
blue: for despite their %pretensions to
chivalry, they had no scruples about
fair play or any such superstitions of
utilization. AT first they did not seem
Inclined to modest young Lincoln. His
,ppearance did not invite %insolence; his
reputation for strength and activity
was Il greater protection to him than
his ~inotlrnsiye good nature. But the
loud admiration of Ofutt gave them
umbrage. 1t led to dispute. con
,radicIions, and finally to a formal
banter to Il wrestling match. Lincoln
was greatly averse to all this "wooling
and pulling as he called it. But
Ofutt's indiscretion had made in ncccs-
sary for him to show his mettle. Jack
Armstrong, the leading bully of the
Gang, was selected to throw him, and
expected an easy victory. But he soon
found himself in different hands from
any he had heretofore engaged with.
Seing he could not manage the tall
stranger, his friends Swarmed in, and
by kicking and tripping nearly suc-
ceedeh in getting Lincoln down. At
this, as has been said of another hero,
'the spirit of Odin entered into him.
and putting forth his whole strength,
he held the pride of Clary's Grove in
his arms like a child, and almost choked
the exllberant life out of him. For a
moment Il general fight seemed inevita-
BILE; but Lincoln, standing undismayed
with his back to the wall, looked so
formidable in his defiance that an hon
est admiration took the place of
momentary fury, and his initiation was
over. As to Armstrong, he was Lin
coins friend and sworn brother as o
as he recovered the use of his larynx.
and the bond thus strangely created
lasted through life. Lincoln had no
further occasion to fight his own battle
while Armstrong was there to act as
his champion. The two friends, al
though so widely different, were helpful
to each other afterward in many ways,
and Lincoln made ample amends for
the liberty his hands had taken with
Jacks throat. by saving, in a memoir
able trial, his sons neck from the
halter.
This incident, trivial and vulgar as it
may seem, was of great Importance in
Lincoln's life. His behavior in this
ignoblc scuflle did the work of years
for him. in giving him the position he
required where his lot was cast. He
became from that moment, in a certain
sense, a parsonage, with a name and
standing of his own. The verdict of
Grove was unanimous that he
was 1.-THE ~cleverest fellow that had
ever broke into the settlement" He
did not have to be constantly scuffling
to guard his s~clf-rcspect, and at the
same time he gained the goodwill Of
better sort by his evident peaceable-
hess and integrity .-Nicolm and Hay,
in CpntyyU